Not made of stone
by S.H.Sartre
Summary: In which we see our beloved Cardinal and our favorite spy in some scenes that should have been in the musical.


Milady de Winter was what you could call a notable stranger. Even though she was passing by the halls of Louvre with her nobility air, she was capable of pass through unnoticed by any court member, that way she could reach her destination without being disturbed.

It has been a while since she heard from the three musketeers that have been causing troubles to Cardinal Richelieu, her current "boss". She knew Athos was one of them, knowing what he was thinking and not enjoying a bit of his silence. That is why she decided to pay a visit to her "lovely" boss.

When she reached the doors of his office, she found them locked. It did not alarm her. Nothing one of her hair pins would not take care of. She was surprised to see two of the best swordsmen of the Cardinal (besides Rochefort, of course) fighting against Richelieu. He seemed to not have noticed her entr'acte until disarm the two young men that probably had half of his age, with only one blow. Only then he would stare at Milady.

"Can I help you? To what I owe the honor of having you in my chambers?", he asked casually, like he was already waiting her visit. Then he said to the other two that were lying on the ground. "You two can leave".

The two young men collected their weapons quickly, doing a brief reverence to his Eminency and his current visitor, leaving the room as soon as possible, and then she locked it immediately. Milady approached the Cardinal, reaching out her hand at the same instant he directed at her the same gesture. They were both staring into each other, expecting the reverence kiss, measuring their forces, and ended up both pulling down their hands.

"Well, Richelieu, I did not know you liked to humiliate children...", she laughed, approaching the chess board he had next the fireplace. All furniture has been pulled back to give space for the fight that had taken place there.

"A mere training exercise", he answered. "It's always good to keep yourself in shape. You never know when someone is going to point a sword towards you, isn't it so?"

"Indeed", she raised her gaze directly to him.

A minute of silence had passed by between them and it was enough to dissolve the fake friendly atmosphere of the talking.

"Now, back to my question: why did you come here?", he asked, eyes intensely staring at her. His blue eyes were intimidating and cold. But so were hers.

"Athos and his musketeers haven't caused us problems for a few days", she informed, measuring her information carefully.

"Yes, and…?"

"Aren't you going to do anything about it?", she felt a little discouraged due to his lack of interest.

"Not yet. I prefer to enjoy the little of _peace_ and silence before the storm", he emphasized the word, almost accusing her of intrude into a Political Reunion. "Anything else, Milady?"

In fact, she only had that motive to visit him indeed. If that could even be called a motive. In her thoughts, she guessed that she only ended up there because a bigger force told her to. That, or she only needed someone to piss off, and it had to be _him_, preferably.

But then, Milady decided to change the subject.

"Good. How about a duel? If you are so resentful towards my interference, maybe I can compensate you".

"You?" he laughed with disdain, however, she noticed something more in his eyes: curiosity. "I have my doubts".

"You won't have when I beat you", she provoked, taking a discrete sword from the bends of her dress. Richelieu took off the red overcoat he was wearing and threw it on the floor.

Both stood in position for the combat, staring at each other eyes as if trying to make the other give up. It didn't work for both parts, the two of them were now attacking the other with ferocity.

They were like a hurricane of grace, violence and sharp points. Even the best Russian ballerinas would envy that skilled demonstration. From time to time, they would notice a silly hand from the other, but they sincerely didn't care.

In a lucky move, the Cardinal caged Milady against himself, his sword on her throat being supported by the other sword. He felt the hard swallow on her throat and smiled.

"You know, I already have the answer for those doubts… You are no match for me".

"Oh, yeah? Think again".

Milady stepped hard on Richelieu's foot with the pointing heel of her boot, he let go of her and cursed with will, taking a few steps back. Then he started attacking her again with even more rage. She laughed at him, and it only made him madder.

After moves and more moves, they started to think that would be no winner out of this, they found themselves in an unexpected situation: a tie. Both had swords pressed in their necks, dangerously close to draw blood. They were tired, but none of them even considered given up. It was scary how similar they were.

In a desperate move, Milady took a dagger of the corset of her dress, and pulled Richelieu's sword away from her neck and, advancing one step, she replaced her sword with her dagger on his throat.

"This is cheating!" he growled, almost voiceless, surprised.

"Everything is fair in love and war", she answered, regaining her breath.

"I don't recall we were at war".

"So you admit that you love me?" she smiled, provoking him once more.

"NO!" he roared, throwing his sword away and using one hand to grab the hand with the dagger and the other closed around her neck. Her laugh died instantaneously, leaving the room with uncomfortable silence. Through the windows the sun was setting and projecting shadows that were only growing by the time. It seemed years had passed by until she dropped the sword she was holding, and he kicked it away.

Milady realized she was becoming breathless and that Richelieu would not let go of her neck so soon. She grabbed his fingers, trying pointless to loose the grip. The man was indeed strong.

She looked at the Cardinal. His face kept a neutral expression, cold as ice, but his shoulders were tense, as his arms. She could see the shape of his muscles under the impeccable shirt.

But what most frightened her (and Milady wasn't easily frightened) was his eyes. They didn't hold the coldness the face transmitted; they reflected the existing fire somewhere inside of him. This was not expected, at least, not from him. On the other way, she now knew what his lovers saw on him.

Could it be? Did all these women see that or only her? Richelieu would never tell, so, she decided to kept the observation to herself.

He finally loosened his fingers around her neck, but still did not take his hand off there. On the other way. His hand drew a path on the extension of her cleavage, savoring the soft texture of the pale skin.

"You must be one of those angels expelled from heaven…" he whispered it more to himself. And not another word came out.

So, Milady tried one last desperate attempt. She was out of her gravity center, but she had to take a shot.

She threw her weight back, unbalancing both of them, making they fall into the floor, in a mixture of arms and legs. Seizing the opportunity of his dizziness, she tried to stand up and run. She did not notice the hand around her ankle that pulled her back in the ground. Richelieu had an evil look in his eyes now, that could only measure the own Devil. Milady knew she was lost now.

She tried to grab anything she could, but not even a single table leg was within her reach. Not even swords, he had thrown them far. She gazed back at him, now that he was pulling her towards him, like a snake after the attack. Milady swallowed hard. She tried to scream, but nothing came out her throat. She closed her eyes very tight. _No... No_!

Recovering her senses, she was under him. Literally. Her arms pinned above her head by only one of his hands, while the other Cardinal's hand supported him on the floor.

"What were you thinking?!" he yelled. "That you could run away from me? No one runs away from me! Not even you!"

"Kill me!" she begged.

"NO!"

He brought her to his lap, holding her still by her waist and nape. His eyes were savage, like he was only acting by instinct. Man. He was only being a man.

And that was what Milady feared.

Their faces were too much close, despite her attempts of pulling back. She knew the inevitable was about to come.

"I would never kill you…" he said, stroking slightly her face. Then he advanced furiously on her lips, not given her a chance to fight.

Milady was trying to release herself from that man at every instant, but not being able to it. The forced kiss was becoming violent and he had no intention of stopping. He was so out of control she could swear he would break his promise and kill her right there.

He was perceptive to Milady's reluctance on his kiss, which is why he kept both arms wrapped firmly around her. She wouldn't escape. _No way!_

He pulled her pony tail hard, undoing it and making her moan in pain. This was exactly what he wanted. Taking advantage on it to deepen the kiss and their tongues danced – even if she did not wish for it.

Milady did not know if she felt nauseated or excited. This man was irritating, blackmailer and sadistic! She hated all those man from the bottom of her heart. This wasn't right. The urge to escape still echoed in her mind. However… they knew each other for so many years that was impossible to not consider the possibility of caring about each other. After all, Cardinal was also extremely charming and charismatic. She wanted to kick herself hard after this thought.

Slowly, the initial hankering was fading and Richelieu slowed down the intensity of the kiss, panting. Milady thanked God for that. She thought everything was finally about to end, that he had given up, but she was very wrong. It had barely even started, and the look on his face was pure lust.

He laid her on the cold floor, once again pinning her hands above her head. He kissed her lips again, before tracing a path to her neck. In one particular sensitive spot, he heard a slight gasp, the first one that came from her. He smiled to the thought she was finally given into him. He let go of her hands when he felt the resistance was over.

The kisses expanded to her cleavage, where fabric and skin met. His hands pinned down harshly the sleeves of her dress that hide her shoulders and his fingers brushed over the scar made from the burn mark of Fleur-de-Lis on her arm. She gasped, feeling that now he was kissing that exact spot.

"Why?..." she murmured weakly.

"Because I admire you."

That made no sense. He hated women like... the ones she had been accused of being. They were only accomplices, why was this all happening? Everything was wrong!

But the Cardinal was really good at his present ministrations, which was weird for a man of God.

"Marie… Oh, my Marie…", he murmured almost unconsciously, but she was very aware of it. He knew her real name, of course he did. He was one of the only ones alive that knew. After all, wasn't he one of the priests present at the occasion the Fleur-de-Lis was branded with iron on her arm?

Now, only one thought passed through her mind: how did she allow him to conquer her so easily? If she spent the night with him, certainly would be discarded the next morning. She could not deny that deep in her heart, so deep maybe she could even not realize it, she desired him as much as he did her.

Milady was so absorbed in her thoughts that didn't noticed he had undone her corset and taken off his own shirt. Honestly, the Cardinal was an extremely handsome man. His chest and arms designed from the exercises of fencing let her extremely tempted to give herself at once.

"Armand…"

He raised his head, looking directly into her eyes. He saw apprehension and she saw...

"My dress… Take it".

"I wonder what else is hidden in it", he murmured, doing as she said. In the process, the boots were taken (his and her) and the leather pants he wore.

And then…

_Fire._

It was like the chambers were on fire. Milady was now seeing red on everywhere. Never had been like this before. Not with Athos, or any other man. But with Richelieu… It was a new level. An explosion! Her senses were sharper than ever.

And for one minute, she wished it never ended.

She buried her nails on Richelieu's back, feeling his kisses, his lips and hands everywhere in her body.

And it was on that cold and hard floor made of marble that Milady screamed at the top of her lungs his name, filled with the most pleasurable pain in the world.

"ARMAND!"

He smiled largely, letting go of himself with his own climax. His arms were now shaking and soon, he gave in and fell, lying beside her. Milady turned her back to him. Richelieu smiled satisfied, facing the ceiling.

He pulled his abandoned overcoat on the floor and used it to cover them up. Milady was still panting, her back turned to him. Richelieu kissed her on the neck as his fingers traced her arm. He stopped when he reached the Fleur-de-Lis brand on her right shoulder. She looked at him with an enigmatic expression.

Milady avoided thinking about what had taken place. She hated she had screamed his name. Even worse: deep inside she felt she adored what they did in the last few minutes. A tear run down her cheek. She was so confused…

"What I told you…" he whispered in her ear. "Was true."

She didn't answer, but he knew she was paying attention. He smiled.

"I still admire you. Beware of it."

Another tear.

Milady had no longer her own will. Being that, when Richelieu turned her to himself, she left her head fall in his chest without even caring.

He laced her waist with his arm and did not stop passing his fingers through the mark. Her tears wetting him, but none of them cared.

And they stayed this way until she fell asleep after so much crying.

* * *

When Milady woke up, thought it was all just a dream (or a nightmare?). She felt sheets around her and not the cold floor. She sighed, not knowing if she was happy or sad about it.

Touching around, she startled when noticed the body beside her. Only then her eyes opened.

It was no nightmare. It was real.

Richelieu slept peacefully at her side. She almost touched his face but then she thought better: she had a chance to escape. She wrapped herself around one of the sheets, and when she was placing one foot on the floor, she felt a strong hard gripping around her pulse.

"I did not say you could leave."

She turned, seeing that the Cardinal was wide awake and watched her intensely.

"In case you don't know, I still belong to myself", she hissed, pulling her arm.

"Maybe yes, maybe no… Depends on the point of view. You were mine last night. And did not complain a bit of it."

She turned her face, trying to hide her doubt. Richelieu reached his hand, stroking her face. She froze at his touch.

"Don't be like this…" he said. "It doesn't suit the Milady I know."

"I need to go", she pulled his hand away and ran towards the door. She wasn't surprised to see it didn't open. She looked back at him, only to see Richelieu was holding a key, pretending he had nothing to do with it. "This is very childish of you."

"You will only leave when I want you to leave", he growled, throwing the sheets to one side and walking out of bed to go after her. She tried to keep her mouth shut when she saw his body. When he reached her, he blocked the exit, placing both arms on the door, each one on each side of her body. "And at the moment, I would like to enjoy a little bit more of your… _company."_

Hell! Who she wanted to fool? Herself?

She stretched the neck to kiss the Cardinal's lips, one hand pulling him by the neck and the other one holding the sheet. He was a little surprised, but decided to enjoy the moment. When he finally managed for her to let go of the sheet, a knock on the door interrupt them. Richelieu growled, reluctantly pulling away from Milady's lips. She made a pout, laughing.

"What?!", he yelled, his voice still roarse.

"Eminency", it was Rochefort. The Cardinal had to control himself very hard to not send him to a place worse than the Bastille.

"What do you want?!" he yelled again. Milady was torturing him with kisses along his face and neck, leaving him near screaming.

"Didn't you wish me to stay?" she provoked, whispering in his ear. "Now, I'm the one who has no intention of leaving."

"Sir… We need to talk. It is about the musketeers."

"Kill them!" he ordered, trying to pull Milady's hands away, but not having enough straight to it -or will- to it. He whispered to her, "Don't you see I'm the middle of an important conversation?!"

"I was here first! Send Rochefort away."

"Milady…"

She smiled, and he knew she just had come up with a devilish plan.

"Promise me you will compensate me for this, then", she saw his reluctance. "Promise me, Armand."

Of course he couldn't resist, even knowing he could regret a promise made to her.

"Of course, I promise."

Milady smiled once more, kissing him slightly and walking towards the other door of the room. Assuming it was a closet, she was much happier to find a bathtub instead. She closed the door as soon as Richelieu finished putting the pants and a robe on, at last, opening the door to Rochefort.

The captain stared at his boss strangely.

"Is everything fine, Eminency?"

Richelieu's look said clearly not.

* * *

As soon as he finally sent Rochefort away, Richelieu went to the bathroom, fearing what he would find there. His chin went to the floor as he saw Milady on his tub, enjoying a foam bath with several scented oils. He had to smile a little. He leaned on the backstop, admiring the scene.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but you have a scheduled trip to Calais."

She didn't seem surprise to see him standing there.

"I will be there before you can spell Calais", she answered.

"How audacious…"

"I'm an audacious woman", she shook her shoulders. "Care to join me?"

"You don't have to ask, after all, it is my bathtub. I was coming in anyway."

"You're welcome", she replied, closing her eyes and throwing her head back, ignoring him completely.

When she looked, he already had lost the pants and robe, and was entering the tub, in front of her.

"Ah, you decided to accept my invitation…"

"I said I was coming in."

"Of course you did…" she laughed, approaching him slowly, trying to tempt him with her lips. "How about fulfilling that promise?"

They both smile largely, sharing thoughts that had not a drop of innocence.

* * *

Milady laid her head on Cardinal's shoulder and closed her eyes, feeling he was playing with one lock of her hair. She heard a laugh echoing in his chest.

"Do I look like a pillow?"

Milady laughed, pocking him on the ribs with her elbow. He contracted a little, placing one of his hands over the sore spot.

"Now you are more comfortable", she sighed, feeling his arms pressing her against him. Even though she did not trust him entirely, she knew those arms would make any woman feel safe. She could enjoy this if she held her defenses up.

"I could stay here for the rest of the day", he murmured against her hair. That reminded her of something.

"By the way, why is it no one else interrupted us since Rochefort?"

"I ordered to be no longer disturbed during the day. And that they brought me lunch for two", he smiled at the sight of her turning around interested. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"You are hard to satisfy."

"The other way is the same, dear."

* * *

Later on, Milady had finished tying her boots while Richelieu was dressing his crumpled shirt. He took more time to find his clothes after hidden them the other night, after Milady had slept in his arms and he carried her to the bed.

"I'm leaving now, if you don't mind", she said ironically, analyzing the bends of her dress, putting away the sword and the dagger that had started it all.

He did not want to admit how much he cared (and lamented), that made him growl, focusing in his buttons.

"_Now_, you can go", he said, finally releasing her, thinking he still had her under control. He knew it was not true, but it did not cost to keep the appearances, even though both knew none of it mattered anymore.

"I will be back before you can miss me", she said, walking quickly towards him, kissing him deeply. She stroked his face. "Take care of yourself, Armand."

"I'll try", he whispered back, kissing her hand.

Milady smiled and went to the door, leaving in the same discrete way she entered the chambers the day before.

Richelieu murmured in silence, hating to be alone now:

"I already miss you…"

* * *

Two days after his night with Milady, Richelieu found himself in his office, and, between the papers, reminded what had happened. It happened just a few meters from where he was standing now. He sighed every time he recalled her kisses. Shocking his head, tried to focus on the paperwork he had in front of him.

Right after, a shy knock on the door. Expected to be Milady, but she never would have knocked.

"Come in."

"Eminency, I bring a letter to you, sir", the young servant said. He seemed really nervous.

"Bring it here", Richelieu ordered, without taking his eyes of the documents he was examining. The boy entered running, placing the letter carefully on the desk and leaving at the same speed, closing the door behind him.

Curious, the Cardinal deflected his attention after some minutes. He took the envelope, assuming it was Milady's. Expecting some good news, finally. The seal was broken and the reading took place. It wasn't her writing, but from one of his informers from Calais. This was no good sign.

He read it once. Laughing with disdain, believing it was all a joke of bad taste and it would result in a few more heads in the Bastille. He read again, calmer, and that's when his hands started shaking because of one specific paragraph: _"The outlaw musketeers surrounded Milady de Winter and she had no other choice than jumping of the cliff towards the rocks. My patrols did not find any body, assuming this way, she must have being claimed by the sea"._

Milady jumped of the cliff. Straight to the sharp rocks below her.

Straight to death.

Milady was dead.

_His _Milady. _Dead_.

"God…" his voice almost failed as he leaned over the desk, reading once more the paper, confirming it wasn't a nightmare.

Richelieu stood up slowly and went to the fire place. The flames were dancing over the wood and reflected in his face with light and shadows, giving him an older and worn out look. He no longer looked like the imposing French Catholic Church Chief and the King's counselor. But his eyes reflected all the misery he was feeling. The beautiful shade of blue that once was there, now was pale and lifeless, glassy, like himself was a corpse.

He threw the letter on the fire, watching it burn and wishing the last days disappeared with it. That those wonderful moments with Milady had never passed. He returned to his desk and crashed on the armchair, finally letting go of the tears, without control of his eyes.

"Why, my God, why?!" he murmured repeatedly, sobbing like a child. "She… She can't be dead! It's a lie! Lie!" he screamed.

He remembered the feeling of having her in his arms, holding on to this as it was the only way to keep his sanity. She was gone forever, leaving him alone.

"She promised to come back! She _always_ does... Always... For me... NO! God, no!" Richelieu no longer had voice after the screams.

After so much time crying, feeling his eyes burning as if they were in flames, she finally sighed without tears. He leaned in the armchair, with tight closed eyes. And said only one more thing:

"My Father… I could not tell her I love her. Marie, forgive me, please..."

And felt like he was the most miserable man on earth.

* * *

A few days after, Richelieu found himself in a dirty cell of the Bastille. He was arrested for "conspiracy against the King". _Bullshit! That kid won't last a month without me! After all I was just trying to help..._ But the fact was that he was doomed to spend the rest of his life there, the place once he had sent so many before him. Ironic.

The signs of mistreatment were visible on him. He had received so many kicks on his stomach and punches on his face that for days he hadn't being able to eat without horrible pains. Actually, everything hurts. No one would have guessed – especially him – that one day, the fearful Cardinal Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu would be spanked, tortured and sent to the Bastille. What an unfortunate twist…

His good commander, Rochefort, was killed by that D'Artagnan boy. Another irreplaceable lost for his side, and Milady was still much missed. In every single sense. His heart was still heavy with the pain of her loss, he regretted deeply to let her leave his room.

Lying on the straw mattress and feeling the rocks below himself, he had given up the thought of freedom a long time ago. Only waiting death would come soon.

There was a low conversation outside the cell. It was the early hours of day and usually, the prisoners didn't receive visitors at this time. Or ever, frankly speaking. The old massive wood door opened and through it entered a tall and slim figure. He suspected it could be the long waited one. _Yes, I'm already crazy._

"Cardinal Richelieu", the person said. Carrying a heavy (fake?) accent from somewhere North, but he thought he recognized the voice despite it. He sat carefully. "I was sent to take care of you, sir."

It was a woman. He was more certain than ever that he was going to die, if he wasn't already.

She had brought with herself a basket, from where she took a clean white shirt and reached out to him. He quickly changed clothes, trying hard not to moan in pain. All his chest was marked with bruises, one worse than the other.

So his visitor knelt beside him, and after a few minutes staring at him firmly, she took off the hood.

_Yes, I'm dead, indeed._

It was Milady

Richelieu needed to blink several times until he was sure she was made of flesh and bone and not some ghost that came to torment him. She smiled calmly, the same expression he saw the other day when she left his room heading to Calais.

"You… are alive!" he mumbled, raising a hand to touch the beloved face. "How?"

"Let's say I escaped from the Kingdom of the Dead, like the great spy I'm", she laughed, stroking his sore face. "But the truth is I'm one hell of a good swimmer."

"Marie, I… I…"

"Quiet, Eminency. You need to spare all the strength you can. We are running away from here. Tonight."

"Run away? From the Bastille?" he raised an eyebrow, disbelieved.

"Yes. Now stand still, I need to finish cleaning up your wounds. Or they you think I left your cell too fast."

He kept his mouth shut during the whole painful process of holding back the will of scream, hug her and kiss her madly. His heart was beating so hard he thought she could hear.

When Milady was done, he felt like he could tame a horse. He drink a sip of the wine she brought, extremely grateful after all the filthy water he drank so he would not die from dehydration. Still couldn't keep his eyes of her.

"I love you", he declared at once, without knowing if he would have the opportunity to say it later. Milady laughed, leaving him confused.

"I know it, Armand. And I love you too", she murmured, kissing him lightly on the bruised lips. She smiled, standing up and fixing her disguise and everything she had brought on her basket.

"You are already going?" he asked sadly. It broke her heart to see him like this.

"Yes, I need to get to know the path. Be prepared, Armand, my dear. I'm will be back for you later."

She finished talking and slammed the wood door, calling out the guards and putting the hood on her head. Then turned to Richelieu, blowing him a kiss and saying something really low. He read her lips: _I love you._

She left that cell, leaving him anxious and apprehensive for the night.

* * *

The first thing Richelieu heard in that night, almost dawn, were two suffocated moans, and then two muffled noises of something heavy being dropped on the floor. He rose from the mattress and tried to see something through the cracks of the cell's door.

Two guards that were watching the cell were lying still on the floor, with blood puddles below them. He swallowed hard. Certainly this was a piece of work of one person, knowing very well the shapely legs beside them.

He heard the noise of the cell being unlocked and smiled as he saw Milady behind the door, confirming what was suspected.

"Good night, Eminency", she greeted with a charming smile, making him attack her lips without thinking twice, hugging her by the waist. Even surprised, she accepted willingly the hungry kiss, putting her arms around his neck.

"Why did it take so long?" he murmured, his kisses descending to her neck.

"I had a little problem on the entrance. But nothing that my "friendly approach" did not take care of."

Richelieu raised an eyebrow immediately, staring her strictly.

"What part of the "friendly approach" took care of it?" he asked, trying to hide the jealousy, but failing terribly at it.

"The poison part", she laughed, kissing him again and feeling that he had relaxed a little. "But now we need to go. Probably, the poison must be doing its job now and soon we will have an entire army of guards seeking for a beautiful woman who came to visit her dying brother."

"Dying? ME?!" he growled, being dragged by the hand through the halls.

"_My _mission of rescue, _my_ act. Don't complain."

Two musketeers were playing cards when they saw an ex-Cardinal and a red headed woman sneaking through the halls.

"Hey! Watch out!" they stood up, chasing for weapons.

However they were too slow. Barely reaching the swords, Richelieu punched them both really hard on the face, which maybe them pass out and fall on the floor. Milady stared at him, amazed.

"What?" he asked, rubbing the knuckles of his fingers, that were now sore.

"Nice moves…" she murmured, regaining her posture. "Nice to see these muscles of yours working."

He smiled due to the observation, catching a pistol and a sword from the lying musketeers. In this moment, they heard the bell ring, alarming all the guards about the escape of their most dangerous prisoner.

Milady and Richelieu were running up the stairs, being immediately followed by the musketeers. Both distributed sword attacks against everyone that seemed to block the way.

After several confusing stairs and halls, they ended up on the top of a tower, where there was only one watcher at guard. Milady managed to catch him by surprise, stunning him with a hard kick on the middle of his chest. The guard lost balance and crossed the stained glass behind him, falling to absolute death. Milady ran to there, surprise with herself, but not a bit less proud of the feat.

On the other side, Richelieu faced all the soldiers and musketeers that tried to climb the stairs to reach them. The new shirt Milady gave him was already torn in several spots, with drops of blood.

"Do you know how to do a Leap of Faith?" she asked, looking at somewhere down them through the broken stained glass.

"A what?" he asked, giving another attack against the last guard. From that patrol, at least.

"Forget it", she grabbed his hand. "Do you trust me, Armand?"

"I think I don't have another answer than yes, right?" he said watching out for the stairs, from where more enraged screams were coming from.

"Let's go!" she yelled, pulling him out.

Richelieu screamed terrified for being on free-fall toward a hay wagon that didn't seem to be capable of cushion the fall of the two of them. But it did.

They didn't spend much time hidden on the hay. Richelieu was dizzy from the fall, but it did not bring more damage than he already had. Milady, on his side, directed her attention to a carriage not far from there, full of barrels.

"From where did this idea come from, really?" he whispered, trying to understand where were his arms and legs in this mess.

"From an Italian friend that taught me it. Never thought it was going to be useful, until now. See those horses?" she pointed exactly to the carriage they were both staring at. "On three, we run to there and follow that road."

"That road heads to Austria", he observed.

"Exactly. Three!"

Both run to the carriage, trying not to call for attention of the guards. The horses were frightened when they felt the reins were being pulled, making noises that alerted everyone around.

"The faster you can, Richelieu!" Milady screamed, placing fire on a rope and throwing it to the barrels. "This whole place is going to burst!"

He then understood her plan: on the barrels there was gunpowder. He smiled, stirring the horses more.

She really did think of every single detail.

* * *

On the road to Austria, on an old wagon, pulled by a dapple-bay horse, there were two people covered on with robes and hoods. It was a couple and the man was in charge of the reins. Who was unaware of it, would think they were a couple of peasants going to another country on the search of new life.

"Will we return to Paris one day?" the woman asked. A red lock of hair escaped the hood.

He knew how much she loved the city and held her hand, entwining their fingers.

"Maybe someone day…"

"But what about your plans? Don't you wish to be king anymore? We can still win, you still have men faithful to you."

He laughed and she got confused. He turned his face to face her, stopping the wagon.

"I don't need them", he simply said.

"Why not?"

"Why would I want a throne with them when I can conquer the world with you?"

* * *

Ok, guys, first things first. _The Three Musketeers _do NOT belong to me (if it did, these scenes would have been in the book, in the musical and in the movies, as the summary says). I imagine Uwe Kröger and Pia Douwes as Richelieu and Milady (and yes, her name is Marie. I just loved it!), still I really love Stanley Burleson in the role as well.

If anyone knows what is a Leap of Faith and who is the Italian friend, you will know that I also love a certain video game. One hint: _la Volpe_.

I want to thank my beloved friend StarChildWriter for translating this fic so you all could read in English. Btw, she's with a Tanz der Vampire/Elisabeth crossover that is awesome! Go read it, folks!

For my Brazilian (it's in Brazilian Portuguese, okay?) readers, the original version of this fic is also here, under the name of "Nicht aus Stein".

And remember: read and review. It's a way to know if you want more fics like this. Besides, I will be VERY happy. XD


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